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The ATO war veterans now have a summer rehabilitation camp in Katranka located on the Black Sea (Tatarbunar district, Odesa oblast). Since summer 2015, a group of volunteers headed by Kostia Vinnychenko, himself a war veteran, has been conducting free-of-charge rehabilitation activities to help war veterans, their families, and families of the deceased soldiers to reintegrate social life after their return from the front. The purpose of this summer rehab camp is to create an opportunity for active networking, which helps to soften the blow the war veterans and their families received due to the war. Volunteers, professional psychologists, artists, students and children of all ages gather for two-week sessions to talk, play, work, sing, draw and do sports. The friendly family atmosphere created by the camp organizers does magic. People who were shy due to their physical handicaps, withdrawn due to psychological blocks, unable to deal with their emotional barriers are slowly opening up to give way to cheerful laughter, confident smiles, desire to actively take part in the various activities prepared especially for them who gave away, when protecting us, what is most precious to any human being - their health, their limbs, the prospects of leading a normal life. War has taken away everything from these heroes who are so humble that they do not even want to be called heroes. But we know that our duty is to try to give to these courageous people a glimpse of hope and a minimum of support to enable them to start a new life after the war. During the summers of 2015-2016, about 500 war veterans had the opportunity to spend two weeks in such a friendly atmosphere. Their living conditions in the camp were not very comfortable but nobody really complained because they understood that the camp organizers tried to do the maximum they could to bring back to life the eight old wooden houses which were built more than fifty years ago. Last summer, the camp participants decorated the buildings with art works to spruce up the outdoor looks. However, the buildings need to be repaired, bunk beds, cupboards, chairs and tables must be purchased, WC and shower stalls, and and an outdoor kitchen built to accommodate the camp's participants and visitors. To make the camp financially self-sustainable, a stage needs to be built to allow concerts to take place, and a camping area fitted out to receive children on field trips. Donations collected during the concerts will help pay for the facilities, land taxes, and insurance while donations in kind from local businesses will ensure that three meals a day are provided to the camp participants. An estimate for the repair costs and furniture purchasing amounts to 71,000 USD, which have to be raised through the international community because the local population has already depleted its financial resources, which it gave away supporting the national army when the Muscovite-Russian invasion started in March 2014. The government did not improve the situation by devaluating the hryvnia and raising three times the price of facilities in the cities and rural areas. There are no social safety nets and whatever needs to be done to help the ATO war veterans is done with outside help. The acquisition of this summer rehab camp has become reality thanks to the generous donation given by the Ukrainian Credit Union (Toronto, Canada) to the Charitable Fund "Brotherhood Unity/Yednist Pobratymiv". https://www.facebook.com/unitysworn/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/768684129900763/ To enable the camp to function in the summer of 2017, repair works must begin in April 2017. We appeal to Ukrainians in the diaspora and to the Friends of Ukraine, to spare $1 a day for one month to help the holding of the necessary repair works. An estimate of the works will be provided and invoices will be submitted to ensure transparency and accountability through weekly and monthly progress reports, which the donors will have access to. A monitoring committee will be overseeing the works and the expenditures to ensure sound management of the funds received. Donations update: https://www.facebook.com/Ukraine-Katranka-Summer-Rehab-Camp-for-ATO-War-Veterans-1793045644296250/ |
Donors will be most welcome to spend time with the ATO war veterans
at the Katranka summer rehabilitation camp,
which is a renown resort area on the shore of the Black Sea.
Just write to tell us when you are coming!
Please donate $30 to enable the ATO war veterans
and their families to have basic living conditions at the
Katranka summer rehab camp.
